Mackay Hospital and Health Service

Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy 2020 - 2024

Enhance communication and Build a culture of person, Strengthen diverse connections patient engagement family and community- and collaborations centred care

Mackay Hospital and Health Service

Published by the State of (Mackay Hospital and Health Service), November 2020.

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au © State of Queensland (Mackay Hospital and Health Service) 2020 You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the State of Queensland (Mackay Hospital and Health Service).

For more information or to access the summarised Snapshot Strategy document please contact: Community Engagement Team, Mackay Hospital and Health Service, PO Box 5580, Mackay MC 4741, [email protected], phone (07) 4885 6801. An electronic version of this document is available at www.mackay.health.qld.gov.au/get-involved

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander peoples and Australian South Sea Islander peoples are advised that this publication may contain words, names, images and descriptions of people who have passed away.

Definition of consumer We are all users of the health system. Throughout this document we refer to people as patients and consumers. These words are used interchangeably to describe people who use, or are potential users, of health services. The term consumer representative is used to describe someone who has taken up a formal role to advocate on behalf on health consumers in partnership activities with a desire to improve healthcare for all (Health Consumers Queensland, 2018). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS Mackay HHS respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land and sea on which we serve our communities, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We also declare our commitment to reducing inequalities in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as we move to a place of equity, justice and partnership together. Mackay – Yuwi people Sarina – Yuwi people Moranbah – Barada Barna people Dysart – Barada Barna people Clermont – Wangan Jagalingou people Glenden – Middlemount – Barada Barna people Proserpine – Cannonvale – Bowen – Collinsville – Birriah people

RECOGNITION of AUSTRALIAN SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS Mackay HHS formally recognises the Australian South Sea Islander peoples as a distinct cultural group within our geographical boundaries. Mackay HHS is committed to fulfilling the Queensland Government Recognition Statement for Australian South Sea Islander Community to ensure that present and future generations of Australian South Sea Islander peoples have equality of opportunity to participate in and contribute to the economic, social, political and cultural life of the State. Mackay Hospital and Health Service

Table of contents

Purpose 7 Objectives 7 Indicators of success 7 Goals, strategies and measures 8 Principles of engagement 10 Why we engage 11 What we engage about 11 How we engage 11 Levels of engagement and partnership 12 When we will engage 13 How we will use the feedback 13 Diverse engagement and community reach 14 Governance 15 Reporting 16 Managing risk 16 Drivers of consumer engagement 17

5 Welcome message from the Board Chair and Chief Executive

It is with great pleasure we present the 2020-2024 Mackay Hospital and Health Service Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy. The Strategy is more than words on a page; it details our actions to improve the experience and health outcomes of patients and community members. Importantly the Strategy holds us accountable to deliver on these goals. It’s focused, measurable and has been developed in partnership with consumers, community and staff.

The 2020-2024 Strategy details our plans for the next four years to break down barriers preventing people from taking actions to improve their health. We know that individuals and community groups can live healthier and longer lives if they improve their knowledge and understanding of their health condition.

We recognise our local community diversity and cultural diversity, having the largest Australian South Sea Islander population in Australia and almost 8,300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who call the region home. This Strategy enhances the health service’s commitment to partnering and building stronger relationships with First Nations people to provide culturally safe and appropriate care, as further set out in the HHS Cultural Capability Plan.

We offer our gratitude to consumers, community members, community organisations and health service staff who contributed to the consultation process and development of this Strategy. In particular, the Consumer Advisory Partners played a pivotal role in reaching stakeholder and community representatives.

The Strategy aligns to the Mackay HHS Strategic Plan 2020-2024 and supports our commitment to delivering exceptional patient experiences. It is further underpinned by the Employee Engagement Strategy 2020-2024 and organisational values of collaboration, trust, respect and teamwork. These values shape the health service’s culture of putting the voice of consumers and community at the heart of what we do.

The Mackay Hospital and Health Board and Executive Leadership Team is proud to play a leading role in enhancing the health service’s capacity to partner with consumers at each level of the organisation as we deliver our new Strategy.

Darryl Camilleri Lisa Davies-Jones Acting Board Chair Chief Executive Mackay Hospital and Health Mackay Hospital and Health Service

6 Mackay Hospital and Health Service

Purpose The Mackay HHS Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy provides direction to our staff and informs our community about how we partner to achieve our strategic objectives.

Objectives Engaged and empowered consumers Partnered and person-centred care

Indicators of success Broadly • Improved community satisfaction and patient experience • Enhanced capability to engage with community and consumers • Increased consumer engagement in shaping healthcare • Greater health literacy and health outcomes for the community • Increased ownership of one’s own health • Enhanced quality and safety of health care services

7 Goals, strategies and measures

1. Enhance communication and patient engagement

• Embed health literacy into organisational policies and staff training to build a health literate environment. • Build capacity for patients to partner in their own care. • Respond to the individual values, preferences and cultural needs of our consumers. • Involve carers, family members and significant others in the consumers care, as appropriate. • Provide accessible information consumers and community members can understand and act on effectively. • Work in partnership with consumers to develop resources and increase reach, to keep our STRATEGIES community informed. • Enhance mechanisms to receive patient reported experience and co-design solutions. • Implement flexible approaches to actively engage and seek patient experience feedback from our diverse communities and those with specific health needs (eg. CALD, disability and mental health).

• Improved workforce capability to partner with consumers through training compliance. • Reported positive growth in social media interactions. • Number of HHS engagement initiatives documented and evaluated. • Monitor compliance with National Safety and Quality Standard 2.

MEASURES • Number of improvements to health publications.

2. Build a culture of person, family and community-centred care.

• Establish performance accountability with senior leaders by including commitment to partnering with consumers in professional performance and development plans. • Bring the organisational values to life when delivering engagement activities. • Build workforce capability to engage, understand and respond to diversity of people’s values, perspectives and cultural needs. • Involve consumers in training and recruitment of the clinical workforce, including using consumer stories. • Support an organisational culture placing ‘partnering with consumers’ at the forefront, across every

STRATEGIES level of the organisation. • Create welcoming and culturally safe environments where people feel comfortable and confident to share feedback about their experience.

• Analysis and trending of patient experience and feedback. • Principles of engagement embedded in organisational culture through procedures, training and staff resources. • Number of staff accessing the Toolkit for Partnering with Consumers.

MEASURES • Increased opportunities for consumers to participate in staff education.

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3. Strengthen diverse connections and collaborations

• Maintain a suite of engagement mechanisms to effectively partner with consumers. • Implement targeted engagement activities which support organic and authentic relationships with diverse population groups. • Expand formal connections with community organisations, monitoring and reporting the outcomes. • Partner across sectors embedding the three-tiered engagement model of inform, consult and co-design to enhance connected care and the health journey for individuals and their families.

STRATEGIES • Enhance integrated connections across the levels of the organisation from consumers and community through to Board with two-way communication.

• Number of community events ad expos with HHS participation. • Number of system changes co-designed with community sector partners. • Increased stakeholder engagement. • Improved attraction and retention of consumer representatives on Community Reference Groups.

MEASURES • Number of partnerships in place with service delivery partners.

"Person-centred care, putting our patients at the heart of what we do"

9 “The voices of our consumers and community members play an essential role in shaping the future of healthcare services for our region.”

Principles of engagement

1. Participation and partnership 3. Transparency and trust Acknowledge the needs, values and beliefs of Involvement of consumers and community members consumers and community members supporting in engagement practices is underpinned by the them to actively participate in their healthcare to organisational values of collaboration, trust, respect enhance health outcomes. and teamwork.

2. Person-centred and meaningful engagement 4. Accessible and inclusive Engagement is person-centred and values the Consumers are empowered to become involved, expertise of community members, consumers, their rather than recipients, of their own healthcare. families and carers. Information, feedback and Inclusive engagement practices capture the voice of knowledge gained through engagement practices those from groups of people who may not actively is channelled into supporting the improvement of engage in healthcare. health policy, planning, service delivery and design. Outcomes are promoted back to the community through a feedback-loop. Endorsed by Mackay Hospital and Health Board Chair and Mackay Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive

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Why we engage We are focused on improving the patient experience by optimising on the valuable contribution our consumers and communities make. Increased involvement of consumer representatives in the development and implementation of healthcare initiatives enables better partnerships between our clinicians and consumers. Improved partnerships support the delivering of individualised care where consumers are at the forefront of their care and involved in the shared decision-making process. We are committed to partnering with the consumers How we engage of our service so they are well-informed, are involved in decision-making processes at different Mackay HHS has adopted a three-tiered levels of the organisation and to ensure the engagement model which shapes and people who use our services are provided with an provides direction to the delivery and opportunity to share with us what’s important to implementation of engagement practises them and how we provide services into the future. across the HHS. Inform: One-way relationship. Active, where information is disseminated, and passive, where consumers and community members can access it What we engage about upon demand.

Building a consumer engagement experience based Consult: Two-way relationship. An issue is defined on mutual inclusion, transparency and respect is by the organisation and consumers and others are the foundation to ensuring our services are current invited and consulted. and meet the growing and changing needs of the Co-design (participation): Consumers and communities within our region. community members are more actively engaged to This strategy provides a framework for what we define the issues and parameters of the issue(s) and how the participation is to occur. Input can will engage about when we are: be in setting the agenda, proposing options and 1. Developing systems and processes (services) sharing the overall dialogue. to support the engagement of patients, carers, families and consumers to be partners in the governance, planning, design and evaluation of healthcare services. 2. Seeking information, involvement and collaboration from patients and consumers to partner in their own care through shared decision making. 3. Providing training, procedures and support to the workforce to engage patients, carers, families and consumers in decision-making processes at each level of the organisation when partnership opportunities and initiatives arise.

11 Levels of engagement and partnership Participation and collaboration in healthcare processes with patients, carers, families and consumers is encouraged to the extent which people choose. Different types of partnerships between staff, patients, carers, families, consumers and community members exist across the organisation and are not mutually exclusive. These partnerships create different opportunities for engagement at different levels of the organisation and can happen simultaneously. Effective partnerships have been linked to many benefits, including positive patient experience, high-quality health care and improved safety.

At the level of the individual Partnerships relate to the interaction between clinicians and patients (and, or their loved ones) when care is provided. Individual engagement focuses on providing care that is respectful, supportive and encourages patients, carers and families to be involved in decision making processes.

At the service level Partnerships relate to the organisation and the overall design and delivery of care within the organisation at the service, department or program level. This level of engagement focuses of consumers and the community having input into how programs, services or facilities are delivered, structured, evaluated and improved.

At the network level Engagement processes focus on engagement with health organisations such as other Hospital and Health Services, Primary Health Networks, non-Government service networks and engagement with consumers and community at a regional level.

At the system level Partnerships relate to the involvement of consumers in overall governance, policy and planning. With overlap of the previous level, this level relates to the involvement of consumers and consumer representatives as full members of key organisational governance committees. This level can also involve partnerships with local community organisations and members of local communities.

*Further information and resources to support engagement at the service 12 level is available in the Mackay HHS Partnering with Consumers Toolkit . Mackay Hospital and Health Service

When will we engage Partnerships with patients, consumers and community members take many forms and exist across multilayers of healthcare. These partnerships form the foundation for how the Mackay HHS partners in planning, designing, delivering, measuring and evaluating engagement practises to help improve patient experience and outcomes.

Mackay HHS seeks to partner in activities including: • Consumer publications (fact sheets, brochures and consumer forms) • Committees and working groups • Initiatives, projects and community events • Healthcare services or models of care • Redevelopments and developments including layout, design and functionality of a ward, waiting room or healthcare facility • Staff education, in particular information which pertains to health literacy, shared decision making, cultural diversity and person-centred care • Staff recognition and awards ceremonies • Patient experience surveys and audits • Feedback reports from patient experience surveys, audits and complaints and compliments • Procedure and policies relating to patients’ rights and responsibilities • Strategies and planning documents

The Mackay HHS Toolkit for Partnering with Consumers provides a suite of resources to support staff to engage consumers and community members through various mechanisms of engagement particularly focused at the service level engagement.

How we will use the feedback

• Inform the way we provide care • Identify what we are doing well and areas for improvement • Identify opportunities for continuous service improvements • Improve patient experience • Embed learnings to build on the organisations culture • Strengthen co-design partnerships through consulting and collaborating continuous feedback loop • Seek to manage and respond to consumer feedback at the frontline where appropriate

13 Diverse engagement and community reach

Inclusive engagement practices focus on ensuring Empowering consumers to partner in their care consumers and community members who identify as • Consumer support groups being at risk of experiencing poor health outcomes • Interpreter services are actively encouraged to engage in partnership opportunities at each level of the organisation. • Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights Mackay HHS connects with local diverse population available in multiple languages groups across the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac • Telehealth and virtual health teleconsultations regions through activities such as: Partnerships and engagement supporting Community outreach education and health literacy • BreastScreen Bus • Cultural Practice Program for community • Bowel Screen services • Dental Van • Print and digital communication campaigns • Deadly Choice Community Days • Consumer representatives on Mackay HHS Consumer Advisory Partners and the rural • Health education and promotion at community Community Reference Group expos (Donate Life, Mental Health, etc) • Community partners and consumer • Immunisation clinics representatives on the Mackay HHS • Primary Healthcare Community Workers Connecting Regional Communities to Closing • MIRI Let’s Shape Up, Diabetes and Obesity the Gap Project

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Governance The Mackay Hospital and Health Board (Mackay HHB) and the Mackay HHS Executive Leadership Team (ELT) are accountable for the development and implementation of the Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy 2020-2024. The Mackay HHB is committed to embedding consumer and community engagement into the Mackay HHS organisational culture and practices with support from the ELT.

Mackay Hospital and Executive Committee Health Board

Safety and Quality Committee Mackay HHS Chief Executive

ELT, Senior Directors and Clinical, Nursing and Allied Health Directors Clinical Governance Committee

Mackay HHS Consumer Advisory Partners (CAP)

Standard 2, Partnering with Consumers Sub-Committee Divisional and facility Consumer representatives Community Reference on working groups and Groups (CRG) committees

Bowen CRG Mackay Health CRG

Clermont Advisory Moranbah and Dysart CRG Network Team (CHANT)

Collinsville Advisory Sarina CRG Network

Family Advisory Partners Whitsunday Health Service CRG

Connecting Regional Communities to Maternity CRG Close the Gap

15 *Only relevant committees have been shown on the above diagram. Reporting The Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy progress is monitored and reported to the Mackay HHB and ELT annually. The evaluation of the impact and success of the Strategy occurs through: • Activity engagement summary presented to the Mackay HHB and ELT every six-months. • Quarterly reporting and evidence collection against the NSQHS requirements for Standard 2 Safety and Quality Operational Plan and Gap Analysis. • Monthly reporting and information relating to consumer feedback, complaints and compliments is disseminated and reviewed at the Standard 2 Sub-Committee as per the Mackay HHS Clinical Governance Framework. • Each division from across the organisation is required to table their Standard 2 quality improvement activities at the Standard 2 Sub-Committee for review. This supports a learning environment for staff where learnings can be shared across the organisation. • Surveying of consumer and community representatives to collect feedback on what’s working well and to highlight opportunities for improvement.

Engagement activities implemented across the different levels of the organisation are recorded, monitored and reported in each division's Safety and Quality Operational Plan.

Managing risk The Mackay HHS Consumer and Community Engagement Risk Mitigation Strategy document provides guidance on how to prevent and minimise risk when engaging with consumers. This document is accessible to all staff via QHEPS. The Mackay HHS Standard 2 Sub-Committee also regularly reviews the potential of risks and takes a proactive approach to applying appropriate controls that minimise the potential for risks to impact on services and engagement activities.

"Will look forward to continuing to work with our consumers, community members and partners to be responsive to 16 emerging needs within our community" Mackay Hospital and Health Service

Drivers of consumer engagement The value and important contribution consumers make to health service planning and delivery is well recognised and accepted both nationally and internationally. The importance of consumer engagement is acknowledged within a variety of strategic documents guiding health services in Queensland including:

Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 The Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 (s40) and the Health and Hospitals Boards Regulations 2012 (Part 4) require that each HHS develops and publishes a consumer and community engagement strategy to promote consultation with health consumers and members of the community about the provision of health services. National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards To ensure the highest level of safety and quality for our patient, the Mackay HHS participates in external peer assessments to monitor performance against the eight National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. This strategy aligns with the requirements of Standard 2, Partnering with Consumers. Australian Charter of Health Care Rights The Australian Charter of Health Care Rights specifies the rights of patients and consumers when seeking to receive healthcare services. The charter allows patients, consumers, families, carers and service providers to have a common understanding of the rights of people receiving health care.

Alignment The Consumer and Community Engagement Strategy is supported by the delivery of connected strategies and plans including; • Mackay HHS Strategic Plan 2020-2024 • Mackay HHS Clinical Governance Framework • Mackay HHS Employee Engagement Strategy 2020-2024 • Mackay HHS Cultural Capability Plan • Queensland Health, My health, Queensland’s future: Advancing health 2026 • Making Tracks towards closing the gap in health outcomes for Indigenous Queenslanders by 2033 • National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, Standard 2 Partnering with Consumers • Health Consumers Queensland, Strategic Direction 2018 -2023 and Consumer and Community Engagement Framework

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